Draughts - Waterloo
Cafe Draughts - Waterloo, Arch 16 Leake St, London SE1 7NN, United Kingdom:
220 reviews
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Address: Arch 16 Leake St, London SE1 7NN, United Kingdom
Website: draughtslondon.com
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 51.5019627Longitude: -0.1157091
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reviews
Camielle Landolfi
Nice place. They have all kinds of board games. And food was good too.
6 months ago
C Fr
Huge disapointment!!!
Opening our first board game I thought we had unearthed some sort of long lost relic, we picked up the board which had been torn up in 4 pieces and had to be placed together like a mangled puzzle, the once white question cards were yellow and there were no instructions in sight. As there were no members of staff around to ask for help we decided it would be quicker to google the game rules, after reading the rules we realised that the spinner which was essential to the game had been ripped out from the middle and replaced by 2 die, forcing us to make our own rules. The £6 per head for a 2-hour gaming session could easily cover the updating and renewal of the "game library" but clearly its staying firmly in their pockets.
With an hour left, we played our 2nd boardgame and was told later by a member of staff that we had just 20 minutes left to play. As the venue was relatively quiet we weren't expecting to be rushed out the door but the same lady approached the table without even looking anyone in the face and said are you ready to pay. Shocked at her blatant rudeness we agreed and took the bill. Looking at the receipt revealed the extent of their daylight robbery, a service charge of £8.25 was added when the only service we received was a boot out of the door and even that looked like a chore for them. We walked out of the venue and not one member of staff said bye or acknowledge us. The most shocking thing was we waited 10 minutes before even being seated and then add that to the time of the receipt and the staff managed to shave off around 20 minutes of our already stingy game time, enough time to finish our unfinished game as that is the whole point of playing.
11 months ago
wayne H
Draughts can be a hit and miss. I think people go there with big expectations to play as many boardgames as they want and actually the place has many restrictions on time you can stay and space is super limited so you end up rubbing shoulders with other people. It's definitely not a place where you can walk in either. I find myself excited when we arrive and drained from all the noise and discomfort when I leave.
That being said, they do have an amazing collection of games and awesome food and drink. If only they could make it a more comfortable experience.....
2 months ago
Kate Moore
Love this place! The staff are friendly and the veggie burger was top notch
5 months ago
Juliana Fonnegra
Whether you're a boardgame aficionado or occasional gamer, this venue is a must for fun family or competitive time with friends. The selection of games is vast so you can play a new game with each visit. Highly recommended.
2 months ago
Nathaniel
Friendly and attentive staff, great selection of board games. Fun, busy atmosphere with good variety of food and drinks.
Would recommend booking a table at least 5 days in advance.
2 months ago
Trever Tucker
Loved it here. Service was good, food was average and it was reasonable priced. Being able to play any game and having to book your tables means your guaranteed the length of time you want to play. It is a small charge for the game playing but it is worth it. Staff were all really friendly and helpful whenever needed.
3 months ago
Michael Jackson
Really lovely place in such a unique location.
Staff are wonderfully attentive and knowledgeable.
Great selection of games and plenty of space on the tables and undershelf to accommodate all of your playing needs.
Can't wait to go back.
2 months ago
Chelsea Byers
So much fun. Do come down with a group of friends or work colleagues for a different type of night out. Food looks pretty good too
2 months ago
Dan Duda
I want to love this place, but it's not possible. The place is artsy, clean and with double tables. But it's incredibly noisy and they keep the music blasting. I think it's to do with the nature of the room. I could barely hear my friends explaining the game. I left with a sore throat. And as a final disappointment, why is the food price on the menu excluding tax?? Very confusing! It's not a place for real board games rather a place for party games :/
3 months ago
Olivia Hall
This place is amazing! Great games, very easy to book and change the booking. The staff are very helpful - great with birthdays and helping keep a secret! Really recommend for large parties or small.
2 months ago
John Fingerle
A bit loud but great selection of games and excellent foos
4 months ago
Donna Collins
Great place for board gamers.
Loads of variety, tables are especially made so you can put the game not on the table top. Great drinks choice (they have a stellar 0% beer by Brooklyn Brewery), nice staff. The only fault one can think of is that it is too busy - if you don't reserve in the weekends, you are hard pressed to get a place.... but you can hardly hold that against them!
4 months ago
Maureen Einfeld
Pleasantly surprised in how big this place was. Good food and a large selection of games. A good place to go with a group. Highly recommended
3 weeks ago
mindy middleton
Good range of board games, although not the largest compared to other board games cafes. Small food menu, but well made with gluten free options. Very helpful and attentive staff. Extremely well placed a few minutes walk from Waterloo.
2 months ago
Culvers Belleville
A really nice and quirky place! They have a great selection of games for all tastes and a really helpful staff. Delicious deserts as well at reasonable prices. I highly recommend for all types of events - birthdays, team building events, just hanging out, etc. :)
3 months ago
Diana Beveridge
Good spot with decent food and drinks. Staff are also nice. However charged £6 for the "upkeep" of the games which clearly isnt the case. Lots of missing pieces and supplied with scrap paper.
2 months ago
Deryn Hannapel
Slow service, lack of expertise on the games and missing pieces replaced with paper in a couple of games we played
Had a much better experience at the Hackney location
8 months ago
N KB
Went here midweek with a couple friends. Make sure you book, place gets quite busy. Board game selection is a bit limited to be honest. I've been to the other one in Hackney and it seemed like they had a much better selection. Food menu is quite decent, good selection of snack foods and burgers, however we had to wait over and hour for food.
2 months ago
cody fox
Draughts was a really fun location. We didnt know that you could book tables ahead of time, however the staff were very accommodating and let us have a table until 7. We had nachos and the sweet potato fries and enjoyed both immensely.
I'm happy that the location is popular, however it did mean that sometimes it was hard to hear each other. But that was a slight oversight.
The place is well furnished, well stocked and well staffed.
Looking forward to coming back!
3 weeks ago
Cassidy Miller
What a place! Draughts Waterloo is in an easy to reach location, just a stone's throw from Waterloo station. The staff are, in my experience, all very friendly and genuinely interested and excited about board games, with each more than happy to give recommendations and discuss games in general. This gives the interactions with staff a genuinely warm quality that allows it to be an experience as well as a service.
Furthermore, they are larger than many other board game cafés I have visited, which allows them to give you a generous 4 hours for your stay.
Make sure to bring friends, though. They don't rent those out.
6 months ago
Run Bike
A great place to go with friends. Just make sure you book a table a good few days in advance, or a week in advance if you want a Friday. The food is great, moderately priced for a London eatery. The selection of board games is amazing, they have so many. The staff can even recommend games for you based on what type of thing you're looking for! I've been twice and will definitely go again!
3 months ago
Richard Hill
Great place to hang out. Make sure to book during peak hours such as weekend evenings.
5 days ago
Vimal Joice
This is such a cool place! If you're near Waterloo it's worth going to. I can see how it gets busy and is worth booking but really fun when you're there.
2 months ago
John Spraggon
Had a great date here. Staff were helpful even when rushed off their feet. Food was excellent. Cocktails were great too. Staff are very helpful with getting you to understand the boardgames too. Excellent place. Make sure you book a table even for 2
2 months ago
C Simmons
Thank you so much for the wonderful warm welcome and attention we received at your cafe. It was our son's 15th birthday and along with 16 friends we had a really fun time. We and they look forward to returning to Draughts in the future.
3 months ago
Judy Pameticky
Great selection of games. Nice food. Good atmosphere. Really fun. There were some real gems on the shelves there.
3 weeks ago
Rhonda Hughes
Had a splendid evening here with friends. Service can be a little hard to get at some points, but when you do, they’re unfailingly pleasant. The range of games available is great and food is very decent.
The volume in the place makes it a little hard to sometimes hear people you’re at the same table at, and I was a little dispirited when our booking finished that we couldn’t continue despite lots of tables remaining empty.
3 months ago
anthony delmasto
I wish we had such places in my country!
People are coming to play, drink and eat - I find it a great evening with friends or family. Staff are nice, unfortunately I didn't have the chance to eat as I arrived at 23:00 and kitchen was closed. Must reserve in advanced.
8 months ago
Darell Gholston
Loved this place and I'm not a big board game fan, but I wanted to impress a girl that is.
Really laid back place and a lot of fun.
2 months ago
Mayurnath Puli
I liked the lively atmosphere and other people kept to themselves.
The staff were friendly and helpful.
They have a large selection of games but they could be kept in a cleaner condition.
Enjoyed the food.
Shared bathrooms.
3 weeks ago
pretti crissy
This is the kind of place that you'll enjoy if you come with good friends that enjoy games. The waitstaff weren't super attentive when it came to ordering drinks and food but helped out when we asked for explanation on one of the games.
I felt the lack of the on site games masters that the Hackney site offers. Not a necessity but good help when trying new games. Will definitely return as the game selection trumps all and it's much closer to home than Hackney.
2 months ago
Keenan H
Friendly staff and very good food. Maybe a charging a little too much for the cover charge given a lot of the games were looking worse for wear and the collection didn't seem to be maintained that well. Our main complaint was the noise! There was a party going on at another table so loud that I had to shout the rules into my partner's ear! Shouldn't be as loud as a gig, and ended with us leaving early after being very excited to visit. Perhaps it's better in the daytime, perhaps we were just unlucky, but unfortunately we won't be going back.
6 months ago
Erin Whittey
Lovely staff and great food. Wide selection of board games available and can play tabletop RPGs there if you provide your own dice and materials!
3 months ago
Justin Kurtz
Loved the place.
Two down sides here, 1/ the customers don’t take care of the games after using them. We spent a good hour of our time there wasted trying to set up games that were incomplete, or far too complicated to play and the instructions were missing or almost destroyed.
2/ The tables along the wall are too close together, we had tea spilt all over our table by the guys next to us as they moved their chair backwards causing our table to lift up, plus in order for me to get out of my seat my friend had to stand up each time, more space is needed, FYI the middle tables are the best.
It is what it is, but some honest feedback.
I think after a few visits, we will get to know what is best to play in the time frame you have. Still great food and staff and a wonderful atmosphere.
4 months ago
Jeffrey Basaoh
Fun afternoon with friends but there are better boardgame cafes out there. It is overpriced for play and food. Also time limitations mean you can't get that much gameplay in. If you are going to play a big meaty game it's best just to buy it and play at home.
4 months ago
Dawn Moulton
Cool place located in an equally cool place. An incredible selection of board games and the staff are really friendly. There's a good food and drink menu too, so it should keep most people happy! Book a table though, it gets very busy
2 months ago
Mike Man
Fantastic place, great location, awesome staff
4 months ago
Sarah
Not a bad place, needs a little refining. Once you get lots of people in there playing games it gets VERY loud, we were 8 people and couldn't talk to each other properly as it was too noisy (obviously we then became part of the problem!) - some acoustic absorption would do well in the space.
I loved the variety and amount of games they have, however I felt the staff were a bit pushy - bringing a game to your table and suggesting you play it, before you even got the hang of the one they had previously brought to you.
Overall, if you're a small group and you know what kind of thing you want to play then you'll have plenty of fun. Get some drinks in and get competitive!
2 months ago
Mahad Abedin
Not a great first experience. Firstly its not clear its £6 entry fee when booking a table online. It is only mentioned after clicking on About, then clicking the hyperlink to FAQ and then opening the tab "gaming charge".
The gaming charge wouldn't be so bad if was not for the first three games we took out, had missing pieces making us waste two hours. On the third game we decided to draw tokens on a piece of paper so we could actually play it.
Table service wasn't great either. Our order was messed up twice and we were incorrectly charged drinks. Will add they did give us a bit of a discount after we mentioned it.
Overall we did have a fun night but decided for £6 each we could just buy a few games and bring it round someones flat and not pay silly food prices.
3 months ago
Kirk Tower
Loved it, good menu and an almost overwhelming selection of boardgames!
3 weeks ago
Nick Menard
Excellent games selection, and good food. Unfortunately it's too loud inside - a result of no attempt being made to soundproof the arch, coupled with actively making it worse by playing music. If you want an evening with friends who can put up with the noise, where you happen to play short/silly games where you don't have to explain rules, then Draughts will be fine. If you don't want to spend all evening shouting, or will be playing anything with a lot of rules to explain, Draughts isn't the games cafe for you.
2 months ago
Wesley Lindsey
Great games place with a vast variety of games that suit all kinds of taste. The drinks and food are very good and reasonably priced. The staff are also incredibly friendly!
3 months ago
Ghessehgoo
Spacious games cafe in Waterloo that's open late. Service is quite slow but the place has a good atmosphere. It's a bit more upmarket than some other games cafes I've been to. Oh, and there's a good selection of games to play, I didn't have any trouble disks a few good ones.
2 months ago
Meagan McMillen
An excellent selection of games, like Draughts in Hackney. The cover charge is reasonable, only £5 for several hours of free choice of board games is fair. The location is convenient, only 10 minutes from Waterloo Station and the place itself is nice and spacious.
The food and drinks were the price you'd expect for where it is, and the burger was good albeit a little cold. It wasn't the fastest food to arrive, but considering having all sorts of board games to play in the interim, it's not an awful wait.
As for service, everyone was decent. Food and drinks brought to the table, and the staff would check things were okay, getting new drinks, and telling you when your time was coming up.
I preferred it to Draughts Hackney, as it's more spacious and local to Waterloo.
4 months ago
Sam Glazer
Cool underground bar with great vibe.
9 months ago
Jay Altizer
One of my favourites place to play boardgame. There are a lot of games and the games are well maintained.
Food and drink quality is good as well.
It would be nice if I can choose the game session of longer than 4 hours...
4 months ago
Tamera Mister
Great venue and game selection. The beer was warm and flat and the food pretty mediocre. Our bill was a bit confused with drinks we didn't order
2 months ago
Kevin Brutout
Brilliant place to enjoy a round of your favourite tabtletop games with a good coffees, food and drinks.
3 months ago
anthony Velez
Epic place if you love board games. The variety is crazy! Only wish some of them were a bit cleaner but understand this is no fault of the staff but of other people who dont have any respect. The food was amazing!
2 months ago
